


Cloak and Dagger

by wakandan_wardog



Series: Time Heals All [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Humor, Infinity War AU, M/M, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, POV Multiple, Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Team Cap Critical, The Cloak Loves Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 19:58:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14755341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakandan_wardog/pseuds/wakandan_wardog
Summary: The Cloak of Levitation is threatening Steve Rogers, every chance it gets. (Stephen doesn't know, at first...)





	Cloak and Dagger

Joining the Ancient One’s classes at Kamar-Taj taught Stephen Strange much. Through the Ancient One herself were the harder lessons, blows to his ego and daggers to his world view. More than once, he thought she enjoyed it. Through the librarian like Wong there was something of patience and humor and working with those of a stubborn nature similar to himself. Through sparring and lessons with Mordo he came to learn about artifacts, relics of power that had been used in times past. Many of them were inert, waking only at the touch of a preferred hand, though no one could glean the criteria by which this was decided. Others had wills of their own, worked for whom they deemed fit, and when they deemed it time to do so.

When Stephen was chosen by the Cloak of Levitation, he understood that it was not a matter to be taken lightly. After all, upon finding himself in the New York Sanctum and fighting to defend it with its master dead, he had seen the Cloak in the decorative glass case on the second floor. If anything, the fact that the thing had moved about in the case had tipped him off that it was different. The fact that it leapt to his aid in battle multiple times, and then eventually settled on his shoulders like it had always belonged there, just drove the fact home.

The Cloak had chosen, and that was that. Stephen would try and continue to be worthy of it. Mordo’s shock and Wong’s silent approval only fueled him in the pursuit of that goal. The Cloak is its own entity, so in most cases he asks rather than tells, and wears it only when he needs it or when it chooses to accompany him. Otherwise, it is free to roam the Sanctum or Kamar-Taj –wherever they happen to be on a given day- and do as it wills. Sometimes it wants to do nothing but spend time with Tony, and Stephen can hardly blame it.

Most days he feels that way. But nonetheless, the Cloak is a something of a free spirit. It can do as it wishes, so long as the world isn’t at stake.

It is because of this, and Stephen is not ashamed to admit it, but it is because of this that at first he doesn’t even notice that the Cloak has its own agenda. After all, the item is an ancient relic, wise and crafty. It’s not exactly a surprise that it can be sneaky and evasive. Besides, it’s not as though Stephen spends a great deal of time thinking much at all about Steve Rogers. He does his best to avoid the man as much as possible, and he certainly doesn’t force the Cloak to stay with him every minute of the day.

So Stephen does what needs doing, and the Cloak does as it wishes, and neither of them really think much more about it. Except what the Cloak feels needs doing is the terrorizing of one former Captain America, and since no one else has stepped up yet… the relic decides that it is going to handle things on its own. But it doesn’t tell Stephen that.

To be fair, it doesn't tell Stephen anything. Perhaps it is trying to teach him a lesson.

 

*

It is a Saturday evening at the New Avengers Compound, and two of the teams –Alpha and Beta- have returned from various obligations. Alpha Team, consisting of the Sorcerer Stephen Strange, Spider-Man Peter Parker, Captain Marvel Carol Danvers and Iron Man Tony Stark had been at a training seminar in Kamar-Taj with Wong. Beta Team, lead by War Machine James Rhodes and consisting of various new recruits that Steve still hadn’t been introduced to had been deployed to stop a bank heist orchestrated by two aspiring supervillains. They took Bruce Banner with them, but the Hulk had not been required. The only reason Steve knows about any of this is because one of the SHIELD operatives also living at the Compound mentioned it within his hearing by accident. The young lady hadn't been able to provide too many specifics, but she knew enough. Based on what was said, Steve’s fairly certain they’re doing debriefs and writing up their after action reports, since he hasn’t seen any of them as of yet.

Steve’s own team, including Natasha, Clint, Wanda, and Sam have yet to be reassigned and are left to their own devices when not in Accords Compliance meetings and assessments. Scott is off visiting his family, and Vision seems to have disappeared, possibly visiting T’Challa in Wakanda.

T'Challa, who is also considered part of the Alpha team should he need be summoned in the face of an extreme threat. Steve's not entirely sure why T'Challa is cleared for Alpha status when Steve's own team is still going through dull classes and meetings with lawyers, but Natasha had told him to let it ride for now. He would, but reluctantly, and if he had the chance to mention it to Tony outside of an official gathering he certainly would demand that priorities be shuffled.

In fact, it's about time he speak with Tony about a multitude of things. Leaving the SHIELD operatives to their discussion, Steve paces through the compound, in search of someone –preferably Tony- who can update him of the situation regarding the recent field operations. To his enhanced senses it sounds like Tony’s in the hall leading to Bruce’s lab, possibly on his way to the apartments in the East Wing that Steve suspects are reserved for his use. Lengthening his stride in an effort to catch up, Steve turns a corner and very nearly runs into someone.

"E-excuse me, I-" He begins to stammer, then abruptly grinds to a halt.

No, not someone, something. It appears that the scarlet Cloak of Levitation that the Sorcerer Supreme tends to wear has the ability to move around without the Sorcerer present. Was that, something he needed to be concerned about? It felt like something that someone should have explained. Either the Cloak can move around on its own, or the Sorcerer who wears it can make himself invisible. Intangible? Maybe both.

For certain, the Cloak is floating there, and Strange is nowhere in sight.

 _'Alright... So, the Cloak is just there by itself.'_ Steve blinks in surprise, shuffles left, and then shuffles right when it echoes his movement. The Cloak shifts again, floating into his path once more. Steve's not sure how to proceed.

If it were a human, he might ask or tell it to proceed... or perhaps gently nudge it out of the way. But somehow that seems strange to do. Is the fabric sentient? Or is the Sorcerer just amusing himself.

"Excuse me." Steve murmurs, his voice low and annoyed, as he steps to the side gain. The Cloak moves with him without hesitation, blocking his path again.

"What's the meaning of this?" Void of any person that might wear it, the item stops when Steve does and floats in mid-air, so he’s facing it eye-to-collar. The collar stands upright, the shoulders of it arced as through draped over a powerful frame.

Still, there is nothing but air filling it. Clearly the item requires only its own will to move the long folds of fabric.

As Steve watches one corner rises, pointing at him ominously. If the Cloak were black it would certainly seem like some death shroud, or perhaps a ghostly white like a spirit. Still, in a rich crimson color it is simply noticeable. Some might even call it garish, with the strange weave pattern and the innumerable stitched patterns and drapes. The item has character, but the loud, flashy kind that Steve associated with Tony. He's immediately wearied by the realization.

The Cloak gestures again, pointing at Steve with a fold of fabric, and then gesturing to the collar once more. Steve blinks, uncomprehending, and watches the Cloak repeat the gesture for the second time. It points up at the collar with a fold of fabric, and then at Steve.

If it were a human, he would almost assume the gesture is one that people frequently make at an antagonistic party, gesturing at their eyes and then the opponent to advise them they were being watched. He’s not entirely sure where an animated object of clothing would learn such a societal quirk, but the gesture is rather unmistakable. Likely, that’s why the Cloak picked it in the first place. Even on fabric –magical fabric, but still- the expression is somewhat intimidating.

Steve steps back a few paces to try and encourage it to drift around the corner, then approaches again with firm strides to try and convince it to move out of his way. The Cloak shows no interest, belling up and moving toward him until Steve halts in his tracks. He’s forced to watch as Tony turns the corner up ahead, oblivious of what had occurred at his back. As the billionaire’s cheerful chatter fades, Steve shifts on his heels for a moment and then backs away, turning away from the Cloak. Whether it is acting on its own or as a messenger bird for its Master, Steve can’t stay. Still, it’s better not to push things right now. He can always talk it over with Tony later.

Without the Sorcerer or his wardrobe around.

It’s just one more thing that Steve will have to convince the billionaire to fix. He’s starting to get quite a list. Still, surely the thing with the Cloak can go toward the bottom, it’s not like the thing is around all that often.

 

*

When the Cloak nudged Stephen’s shoulder and made a sweeping circular gesture, the Sorcerer had obediently set his book aside to pay attention to it. After all, it wasn’t often that the Cloak made requests, and without a mouth or face to articulate them communication could be difficult. Still, the sweep of fabric in a circular shape likely meant portal, which meant all Stephen needed was to figure out where it wanted to go.

“Where?” He murmured, frowning when the Cloak gestured to the desk. “I don’t understand.”

The Cloak gave an impatient sort of flutter, brushing some of the objects on the desk aside and unearthing one of Tony’s many watches. Stephen stared down at the sleek silver and red metal in shock, not even sure when it wound up as one of the inventor’s many castoffs that seemed to be slowly gathering in the random corners of Kamar-Taj. It wasn’t like Tony to take off his watches though, not when they were sometimes the only weapon he had on hand.

The fact that Tony had felt safe enough here, in Stephen’s space, to disarm made something warm and content curl in his gut. Made him consider portaling to a certain hotel room in Japan.

“To Tony?” Strange murmured questioningly. “He’s in Tokyo right now.”

The Cloak shook its collar, negating the guess, and then flipped some of the papers on Stephen’s desk aside. There, among the magical paraphernalia, was an unframed photo. It was a silly little thing, a selfie taken by Peter on his Stark Phone and printed (in multiple copies, Stephen was sure). The teenage hero was cheek to cheek with his idol, Iron Man. Tony Stark stood in the majority of the suit, arm around the boy’s shoulders, and a fond look on his face.

Stephen may have portaled a copy away for his own after seeing Peter flipping through two or three of the printed ones to put up in his room at the Compound.

“You’re not taking Tony’s favorite teenager on a spin just because you can’t go see him directly.” Stephen warned in a low tone. “He wouldn’t let _either_ of us back after that, **no**.”

The Cloak, for lack of a true face, still manages to look perfectly exasperated with him. It slaps at the desk again, at the photo, at a few files that Tony asked Stephen to look after and drop in his office at the compound when he was done-

“The Compound?” The Sorcerer stares at the relic, baffled. “You want a portal to the compound.”

The Cloak seems thrilled that he’s finally caught on, nodding insistently and then flipping fabric in an ‘after you’ sort of gesture that Stephen chooses to read as ‘if you would get on with it’. “Alright, alright. I’m assuming you’ll just let me know when you wish to come back, then. Somehow?”

The Cloak gives him another look, and he frowns. “I don’t appreciate the attitude, if it’s of interest to you.”

The Cloak shrugs, turning its back to him and clearly waiting for the portal to be opened in the middle of his study. Alright then, that’s probably a _no_ on the caring. Stephen blinks at the fabric, still baffled, but is galvanized into movement when it gives him another impatient glance.

“Alright, alright!” He murmured, pushing away from the desk and sweeping his hand out. "Come on then, I'll open you a portal."

The Cloak floats after, smug somehow, and gives an elegant swish when Stephen opens a sparking orange ring into a portal. The Avengers Compound sits half-lit and silent beyond the sparking borders of the ring. Without a glance back the Cloak sails through, giving a dismissive flap of fabric as it departs.

"Taking that as you'll figure out how to tell me you want to return, whenever you actually want to return." Stephen muttered, slowly letting the ring drift closed again. 

 

Because he’s curious, Stephen lets the Cloak be in the Compound for all of ten minutes before he can no longer stand it. Lunging for a scrying stone at the far corner of his desk, he murmurs the spell and rubs his thumb over a flat plane of the item, smirking faintly when an image appears. The Cloak, for its part, is in no apparent hurry, floating lazily through a small living area that matches what Stephen’s seen of the common barracks.

The room could be anyone’s, it could just as easily be empty. The window offered by the scrying stone is too small for much detail, but Stephen doesn’t think there’s enough cause for a true portal or an astral projection. If he can't trust the Cloak, who can he trust?

And yes, being a former Neurosurgeon he’s fully aware of bizarre a sentence that is. Nevertheless, it remains the truth.

Then the Cloak drifts into Captain America’s room, the Soldier sleeping all the while, and Stephen’s suddenly in a position to rethink his previous benchmark. Well... Can he trust the Cloak?

 

*

Steve Rogers wakes from a deep sleep due to the repeated brush of fabric against his cheek. Sleepily he bats at it, brushing it away and rolling slightly onto his shoulder. Moments later the brush returns, harsher this time, just shy of a slap. Steve flails into full wakefulness and surges upright, staring around his room frantically.  


Just out of reach, the Cloak of Levitation floats ominously in mid-air. Steve stares at it, rubbing at his eyes and slightly unsure of what he’s seeing. “Wh… what?”

No, that’s definitely a Cloak. Looming. In his room?

“WHAT?” Steve demands.

The Cloak lifts one corner of the draping fabric, pointing slowly at Steve.

“I don’t understand.” The Captain mumbles around a yawn.

The Cloak seems to shrug, raising the pointed corner to the collar, and making an abrupt slicing gesture. Even without a head or face, the expression is easy to interpret. Steve, for his part, can only gape. Did this piece of sentient outerwear just _threaten_ him?

The Cloak, seeming to know exactly what he’s thinking, gives a decisive nod. With a swish it turns away from him and drifts out of sight, back into the living room and then away. Steve stares after it for several moments, and then flops back onto his mattress. He has no idea how it got into his keycard locked room, but he’s going to have to talk to Tony about it in the morning.

 

*

After the Cloak leaves the Captain’s quarters it floats pointedly down the hall, sweeping imperiously past a junior Shield Agent. Stephen can see the recruit do a double look and then firmly direct eyes forward again, and he smiles in spite of himself. For the most part, those at the Compound have learned not to question Stephen or the actions of the Cloak.

He’s not sure that will hold up after this evening, but he can’t exactly complain. It was certainly sacrificed for a good cause.

Carelessly the Cloak continues onward, drifting through the Common Areas and then to the East Wing. The East Wing is a quieter section of quarters that require higher clearance to access, it houses Tony’s room and personal workshop, though neither space is used with great frequency. Strange isn’t sure how, but one minute the Cloak is looking at the door and the next its hissing open, letting the artifact float through and whispering shut behind.

“How did you manage that?” The Sorcerer wonders softly, watching as the Cloak comes to a halt outside of Tony’s shop.

Within moments the door is whispering open again, admitting the Cloak to sweep into the secure room. Stephen’s certainly the Cloak’s own gifts would not aid it in accessing any of the security protocols or overriding door locks… but he doesn’t know how its managing these feats, either.

Eventually the Cloak seems to stiffen and turns around very obviously, starting directly into the view that the scrying stone offers. So then, it has noticed. When Stephen does nothing there’s an impatient motion at the shoulders, an imperious flap of a corner.

_Well? Get on with it._

The Sorcerer Supreme opens a portal from Stark’s private quarters to his own study in Kamar-Taj, and waits for the relic to return. When the Cloak does finally drift through Stephen’s found his feet, paced around the front of his desk and leaned against it with his arms crossed. He closes the portal as soon as the relic is through, arching an imperious brow at it as he waits.

When there’s no forthcoming gesture or flurry of movement, he sighs. Maybe this is what it’s like to have a teenager.

“Are we going to have to talk about this?” He asks, weary and baffled in turn.

The Cloak hesitates for a moment, then gives another obstinate shrug.

Stephen sighs, frowning at his boots for a moment, before looks up. “You couldn’t invite me?”

If fabric can be smug, the Cloak manages it admirably.

Stephen sighs. Maybe next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Tales of Ill-Tempered Outerwear...


End file.
